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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Tonight, the 29th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) kicks off with their Opening Night Gala screening of Barney’s Version, the Canadian/Italian film based on Mordecai Richler’s comedic novel. It plays at 7pm at the Visa Screening Room, Empire Granville 7 Cinemas. Both stars Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffmann are very funny in this. The festival also holds a Canadian Images gala on Oct. 1 for Carl Bessai's Fathers & Sons, a Dragons & Tigers Gala on Oct. 7 for Aftershock by Feng Ziaogang, and an anniversary gala screening of Score: A Hockey Musical by Michael McGowan on October 9. Their closing night gala on October 15 is Sylvain Chomet L’illusioniste (The Illusionist).

VIFF is one of the largest film festivals in North America. This year it screens 359 films from 80 countries (230 feature-length films). It is especially strong in its selections of Canadian, East Asian and documentary films. They state that, "we screen the largest selection of East Asian films outside of that region, we are one of the biggest showcases of Canadian film in the world and we have a large and important nonfiction program (42 percent of feature films last year were docs)."
---VIFF line-up showcases 87 Canadian films
Program includes 30 BC productions

Vancouver, BC (September 8, 2010) – The 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival will present 87 Canadian films this year, including the festival’s Opening Gala film BARNEY’S VERSION, directed by Richard J. Lewis, and Anniversary Gala film SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL, directed by Michael McGowan. Over 700 Canadian submissions were received.

VIFF is the biggest annual showcase of Canadian film in the world, and puts a special emphasis on BC films. Nearly one-quarter of the festival’s more than 360 films this year are homegrown.

Canadian films are shown within several programming strands, most notably the big Canadian Images section, but also in Galas, Special Presentations, Ecologies of Mind, Reel Youth and Cinema of Our Time.

The Canadian Images line-up includes 17 dramatic and 11 nonfiction feature-length films and 43 shorts. It also includes 24 British Columbia productions, comprised of 13 features (six documentaries and seven dramatic features), one mid-length and 10 shorts. These films showcase new works from some of Canada’s most popular and prolific filmmakers, along with a great crop of new talent.

"The Canadian Images program traditionally includes some of the hottest tickets at VIFF, and this year we have some really exceptional BC films to offer," says Canadian Images programmer Terry McEvoy.

"We have audience favourites like Carl Bessai bringing two films, FATHERS & SONS, which opens the Canadian Images program, and REPEATERS. Terry Miles returns with A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS and Katrin Bowen delights with her first feature AMAZON FALLS. Two more local first films are Silvio Pollio’s GUIDO SUPERSTAR: THE RISE OF GUIDO and Sara McIntyre’s TWO INDIANS TALKING.

"The rest of Canada is well represented with features from Quebec including Xavier Dolan’s latest, HEARTBEATS, Louis Bélanger’s ROUTE 132, and Catherine Martin’s MOURNING FOR ANNA. Two exceptional low-budget films from Ontario are Ingrid Veninger’s MODRA and Nick McAnulty’s UNCLE BRIAN," said McEvoy.

"’We must cultivate our garden.’ Those are the last words of Voltaire's Candide and good advice regarding this year's harvest of Canadian films," continued McEvoy. "In an environment of funding drought and invasive non-native species, VIFF is a great opportunity to hear the stories from our national back forty. The market report is that there's a great crop of dramatic features, docs and shorts to satisfy just about every taste and diet. Bon appétit."

Prizes available to Canadian filmmakers include:
- The biggest prize at VIFF, the $20,000 ET Canada Award for Best Canadian Feature Film, which will be selected by jury from 11 feature films in competition;
- The Canadian Images jury also chooses the $2,000 Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film;
- The NFB Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award, providing $2,500 in technical services, is selected by audience ballot;
- All Canadian films are also eligible for the Most Popular Canadian Film Award, chosen by audience ballot, and the Rogers People’s Choice Award for the favourite film in the festival.

CANADIAN FEATURE FILMS: CANADIAN IMAGESAltitude (Kaare Andrews) BC
A weekend getaway aboard a small plane turns deadly for a rookie pilot and four teenage friends. Minutes after take-off, the aircraft is climbing out of control into the heart of a mysterious storm. Unable to get their bearings or contact the ground, the group realize they are locked in combat with a terrifying supernatural force.

Amazon Falls (Katrin Bowen) BC
Director Katrin Bowen's candid and chilling first feature delves into the belly of the mythical beast that is Los Angeles. Bowen goes beneath this sunny façade to expose the legions of dream-chasers whose realities are far from glamorous.

Breaking the Silence: Burma's Resistance (Pierre Mignault, Hélène Magny) Quebec
Two filmmakers’--Pierre Mignault and Hélène Magny--secret and dangerous journey into the heart of a nation ruled by an oppressive and violent military regime reveals the strength of the Burmese people on both sides of the border, and their unprecedented dedication to the cause of freedom.

Curling (Denis Côté) Quebec
Jean-François (Emmanuel Bilodeau) is a lonely single father, protective of his daughter and afraid of life outside their small, cloistered world. As she approaches adolescence, tensions between and around the pair come to a boil. Denis Côté's mysterious, poignant film captured the Best Director and Best Actor awards at Locarno 2010.

A Drummer's Dream (John Walker) Ontario
John Walker's latest documentary features a rare and unique assembly of some of the greatest drummers in the world. Explosive talent, passion, humour and irresistible personality come together in a magical setting when they create a profound and unforgettable experience. Featuring Nasyr Al-Khabyyr, Dennis Chambers, Kenwood Dennard, Horacio "El-Negro" Hernandez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Mike Mangini and Raul Rekow.

Everywhere (Alexis Durand-Brault) Quebec
Jim (Patrick McKenna) is a three-time divorcée, looking for security in his newfound relationship with Isabelle. By succumbing to the benefits of phone technology, Jim regains self-assurance, but his ethically questionable acts test the boundaries of intimacy.Guido Superstar: The Rise of Guido (Silvio Pollio)
Director Silvio Pollio plays Guido, an Italian stallion with more bravery than brains, who gets more than he bargained for when he's hooked into going undercover against Canada's drug underworld. Suspense, slapstick and plenty of delicious plot twists soon follow...

Heartbeats (Xavier Dolan) Quebec
Like multiple Cannes prizewinner I Killed My Mother, Xavier Dolan's more confidently stylish sophomore effort garnered the Prix de la Jeunesse at the French festival, as well as the grand prize in Sydney. Dolan and Monia Chokri star as inseparable friends who both fall for the same handsome young man...Hope Builders (Fernand Dansereau) Quebec
Fernand Dansereau, the Jutra Tribute award-winning director, returns with a fascinating look into freshly seeded grassroots activism by following a grade 6 class from La Farandole school in McMasterville, Québec, as they participate in a research-action project.

Incendies (Denis Villeneuve) Quebec
Jeanne and Simon journey from Montréal to the Middle East, hoping to fulfill their mother’s cryptic last request: to deliver letters to a father believed dead and a brother unknown. Director Denis Villeneuve poetically lays bare two lives and a legacy shattered by war.

Leave Them Laughing (John Zaritsky) BC
Director John Zaritsky delivers a perfect balance of rawness and exuberant humour. This musical-comedy about the nearness of death is unique and compelling, drawing its audience deep into a story of suffering and pain while liberating us with laughter.

Love Translated (Julia Ivanova) BC
Dreaming of beautiful, yet dutiful brides, men from all over the Western world travel to Odessa to meet women courtesy of Anastasiadate.com. Julia Ivanova's doc explores motives on both sides of this dubious exchange, in which many paying customers come up empty-handed--and sometimes empty-hearted.

Mammalian (Frank Wolf) BC
Frank Wolf and his buddy Taku brave a 2,000 km Arctic canoe journey from Yellowknife to Rankin Inlet, revealing the harshness and the beauty of Canada’s largest wilderness area, and the troubling changes rapidly sweeping the North.Marion Woodman: Dancing in the Flames (Adam Reid) Ontario
What if life and death are not divided against each other but are instead part of a mysterious, harmonious whole? That's the thesis and the challenge of Adam Reid's enlightening documentary about spiritual intellectual Marion Woodman.

Mighty Jerome (Charles Officer) BC
Charles Officer's documentary chronicles the life and legacy of athlete Harry Jerome, using archival footage, personal interviews, stylized re-enactments and a contemporary soundtrack to examine the determination of a gifted Canadian athlete on a mission to please a country that misunderstood him.

MODRA (Ingrid Veninger) Ontario
Lina and Leco are restless, confused teenagers on a trip to Slovakia in Ingrid Veninger's tender snapshot of youth coming to an end. A subtle, heartfelt film of unspoken feelings and gradual revelations.

Mourning for Anna (Catherine Martin) Quebec
Paralyzed by grief after the murder of her daughter, a woman retreats into the splendour and solitude of rural Québec, where she will form a new bond and undergo a special kind of healing. A quietly powerful film from Catherine Martin.A Night for Dying Tigers (Terry Miles) BC
In 24 short hours, Jack heads to prison. Push comes to shove in a fireworks display of family dysfunction during his farewell dinner in this acutely observant, appallingly funny third feature from Terry Miles, director of VIFF 08 hit When Life Was Good.

Repeaters (Carl Bessai) BC
Three addicts in a rehab clinic come to discover that they are living the same day over and over again. Carl Bessai's film uses this story conceit to explore the paradoxes of addiction; the film is a philosophical meditation in thriller format.

Route 132 (Louis Belanger) Quebec
Director Louis Belanger (Gaz Bar Blues) introduces us to Gilles and Bob, who hit the scenic route for a little crime spree, planning to take advantage of the backward provincials. What could possibly go wrong?

Snow and Ashes (Charles-Olivier Michaud) Quebec
Blais Dumas, a war correspondent, awakens from a coma in a hospital room to find that his collaborator David has not come back with him. In Charles-Olivier Michaud's award-winning debut feature, the story slowly unfolds in a series of flashbacks that shed light on the events that led to David's disappearance...Two Indians Talking (Sara McIntyre) BC
In director Sara McIntyre’s comedic narrative, two First Nations cousins await an impending road block. Though they were raised together, on the same reservation, their banter and debate remind us that those on the same side of a cause can have radically different perspectives.

When the Devil Knocks (Helen Slinger) BC
An astounding cast of characters shares the confines of one woman’s mind. Helen Slinger uses footage taken over years of therapy to uncover dozens of ―alters,‖ a life-long battle with Dissociative Identity Disorder and the extraordinary strength of a fragmented self.

Whirligig (Chaz Thorne) Nova Scotia
After yet another failure, Nicholas Sinclair (Everwood's Gregory Smith) manages to track down his parent's new home in Nova Scotia, in spite of their evasive efforts.... Director Chaz Thorne has created a sardonic and highly entertaining coming-of-age story about a young man whose misguided attempts at growing up eventually pay off.Winds of Heaven (Michael Ostroff) Ontario
This is a must-see, possibly one of the best films ever made about our province, these forests, and our history as newcomers. It's the story of Emily Carr and what inspired her: the love of the people, the places, and the love of art. Hats off to everyone involved in this project; it is, for us, a very important story well told, and surely for everyone, a sight to behold.

CANADIAN FEATURE FILMS: GALA PRESENTATIONSBarney's Version (Richard J. Lewis) Ontario Opening Gala, September 30
Based on Mordecai Richler's prize-winning comic novel--his last and, arguably, best--Barney's Version is the warm, wise and witty story of an unlikely hero—the unforgettable Barney Panofsky (played perfectly here by Paul Giamatti).

Fathers&Sons (Carl Bessai) BC Canadian Images Opening Gala, October 1
Sharply realistic and exuberantly funny, Carl Bessai's film combines four stories about grown men and their dads. Spanning different Canadian cultures and juggling a cast of finely drawn characters, this is a warm, boisterous comedy.

CANADIAN FEATURE FILMS: ECOLOGIES OF MINDIn the Wake of the Flood (Ron Mann) ON
In 2009, writer Margaret Atwood’s dedication to the preservation of bird life produced a creatively eco-friendly book tour. Veteran documentarian Ron Mann's rare and intimate look at a national treasure reveals Atwood’s personal drive, and the value of fiction and bird song.

An Ecology of Mind (Nora Bateson) BC
Nora Bateson celebrates her anthropologist-father Gregory Bateson, whose work in cybernetics, semiotics and epistemology continues to challenge us to see our lives within a larger system. With A Simple Rhythm (Tess Girard, ON), Tess Girard's absorbing look at (and listen to) synchrony and chaos, and the universal vibrations that connect us all.

Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie (Sturla Gunnarsson) ON
Ecologist and scientist David Suzuki serves as veteran filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson's subject in this thorough, deep-reaching account of the Canadian icon's life. Gunnarsson shows how Suzuki's relationship with his father and the family's internment during WWII gave Suzuki a sense that history matters and helped shape his critical thinking as an "outsider." Also see: Severn, The Voice of Our Children, about the important work done by Suzuki's daughter.

CANADIAN SHORT FILMS
By probing different parts of the body public, short films can offer multiple diagnoses of the health of a society. We’ve selected some of the most entertaining shorts we’ve seen this year and grouped them according to symptoms we see every day.

Acquired Trait includes HENRY’S GLASSES, JUNKO’S SHAMISEN, SAVAGE, I WAS A CHILD OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS, ON THE WAY TO THE SEA, PLAY.STOP.REWIND, and MOKHTAR.

Amnesia includes MIND THE GAP, ORIGINAL SIN, A FINE YOUNG MAN, CHLOE AND ATTIE, THE CLOSER YOU GET TO CANADA, ME NEITHER, THE LAST TIME AROUND, TRANSMISSION, NAISSANCES, and NOWHERE, ELSEWHERE

Mood Swing includes THE RECEPTION, DO I COME ON TOO STRONG?, LOVE LETTER FORM AN OPEN GRAVE, AMERICAN WIFE, VOODOO, FROG, BIRTHDAY, KING CHICKEN, and HOW TO RID YOUR LOVER OF A NEGATIVE EMOTION CAUSED BY YOU!